Lucy Conley remembers it vividly: the two giant pandas, Qing Qing and Quan Quan, emerging from their enclosure at the zoo in Toronto in the summer of 1985.

“We got to be right up at the fence; we were the first ones there,” said Conley. “(Reporters) were interviewing us and I was really trying to concentrate on the pandas — they were just awesome. I remember (a reporter) asking me, ‘If you were in there with them, what would you do?’

“I said, ‘I would just hug them, that’s how cute they are.’”

Conley, a lifelong panda enthusiast from Cleveland, Ohio, had quite the time catching that first glimpse.

Earlier that summer, she’d heard that two giant pandas had arrived from China at the Metro Toronto Zoo on a 100-day loan. She phoned and was told yes, the pandas were there and ready for her visit. So she piled into a car with her husband, James, and drove nearly 500 kilometres to Toronto.

“When we got there, they said, ‘We’re sorry, they’re not on display yet,’” recalled Conley from her home in Cleveland. “I was devastated.”

The Conleys got back in their car and returned to Ohio, but not before leaving their phone number with zoo staff.

As luck would have it, a Toronto Star reporter was at the zoo that day and saw Conley crying.

Joan Mizzi Fry, then-media relations manager at the Metro Toronto Convention and Visitors Association, remembers getting a call from the reporter, who told her what had happened. Fry rallied association members.

“We thought, ‘Let’s bring these people back in style,’” said Fry.

Not long after, a phone call was made to Cleveland offering the Conleys an expenses-paid weekend in Toronto — and a front-row seat at the zoo.

Conley was more than placated by the gesture.

“It was a fabulous experience,” she said. “We had a beautiful time. Beautiful.”

She has since given her stuffed versions of Qing Qing and Quan Quan to her grandchildren in Florida, who are also dedicated panda lovers. But she hopes to return to see Er Shun and Da Mao, two giant pandas who arrive Monday, during their five-year stay at the Toronto Zoo.

“I would definitely love to see them again,” said Conley.

Calling all panda memories

Do you remember when pandas came to Toronto in 1985? Share your stories with the Star. Email jmcdiarmid@thestar.ca or write to Jessica McDiarmid, 5th Floor Editorial, 1 Yonge St., Toronto, Ont., M5E 1E6. Please be sure to include your full name and contact information.